Craftside- A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty worldThis week at Craftside there is a chance to win a
copy of Modern Calligraphy and Hand Lettering by Lisa Engelbrecht, two
ways to position a patch pocket, a cool finger print poster, an eye
dropper drawing tutorial and how to nalbind from the book Knitting
Around the World.

Crafty Princess DiariesDon't be a wash out! Learn to make a simple crochet wash cloth with this free pattern you can download as a pdf file.

Monday, September 26, 2011

It almost never happens that I know exactly what I'm going to make before I start making it! But this time, it's different. When I finished beading the sunprinted fabric piece last week, I knew that my next project was going to be to paint some more fabrics and use them in a quilt. And that it was going to be silk. And that it was going to be 100% hand stitched.

So the first step was obviously to tear up some silk fabrics that I had and paint them. I mostly used the method that I refer to as painting fabrics in a plastic bag. But I also used kosher salt on some fabrics that were laid out in the sun, and I did some sunprinting with ferns on one of the green pieces. There are a lot of other fabric painting tutorials available at the link. Take your pick, mix and match!

Here's a look at my drying rack full of fabric "samples". The large piece of fabric underneath the upper layer is just a ratty old towel to help catch the drips. And you'll notice that my lovely wood floors are also protected by a drop cloth...I'm a total slob when I'm working ;-)

Copyright 2011 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Looking through some of my piles of unfinished fabrics (unfinished in the sense that I haven't used them for a project yet), I came across this sunprinted piece that I think I painted back in 2005. I couldn't believe that I hadn't used it for something...time to fix that!

Although I considered a meandering path of thread and bead embroidery, in the end I decided that I didn't want any more of the sunprinting obscured than absolutely necessary. So I decided to create a lacy raised flower design in white, crystal, and gold tones. The inspiration for this design came from Nancy Eha's Bead Creative Art Quilts. I was fortunate enough to take a class with Nancy a number of years ago, and this design is a much-simplified version with my own twist. I don't use all the exact methods that Nancy does, so any failings in this piece are completely my own fault!

1. Start with a painted or printed piece of fabric that you want to embellish.

2. Cut a piece of fusible interfacing and iron it to the back of the fabric where you plan to add the beads. Use a piece of very lightweight paper (tracing paper works great) to draw dots where you plan to add your anchoring beads. Nancy's book has several wonderful patterns that you can use, or you can create your own.

3. Pin the pattern to the front of the fabric and stitch small stacks of beads to each dot to create anchors for your raised bead design. Nancy's book, Bead Creative Art Quilts, teaches you how to make a much bigger, multi-layered version of this flower.

4. I love how the finished flower floats above the surface of the fabric.

Copyright 2011 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Cindy Gimbrone BeadsBead Vegan is an occasional post where Cindy the
beadmaker posts some of her vegan recipes. This one is inspired by the
flavors of India.

Craft BudsIt's all about sewing for little guys this week
on Craft Buds, where we've interviewed the authors of the new book
"Sewing for Boys" and gave one of their projects a test drive. Also
check out the roundup of sewing apps for iPhone and Android users.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Oh my, what a terrible picture! The main problem was the shininess of most of the elements. I usually use a matte or satin gloss layer of acrylic medium, but this time I went for more shine..oh well. I can still tell you how it was done :-)

1. I used a selection of previously painted watercolor paper, some cut and some torn as you can see. The torn piece near the bottom is mounted on black card stock, which is "framed" by some shiny textured silver-colored corners.

2. The text was added next, using shiny automotive tape. I used a ballpoint pen to incise each word, and then wiped each with thinned black acrylic paint, wiping it off the surface before it dried. That way the paint stayed in the words, making them stand out, although that's hard to tell because of my sub-par picture!

3. I mounted the watercolor paper background onto matte black mat-board and added antique bobbin spindles at the top and bottom. I used two-part epoxy resin to make sure they were secure.

Copyright 2011 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

Friday, September 09, 2011

Cindy Gimbrone BeadsFeeling like your craft business isn't taking
off like you hoped? You might just be a scrub pine. What's a scrub pine?
Come find out on Cindy's blog!

Connie Gee's DesignsConnie's making plans for 2012 - find out what
projects she is planning to stitch in the coming year. It's always nice
to plan ahead.

Craftside- A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty worldThis week at Craftside there is a chance to win a
copy of the new book by Misty Mawn - Unfurling along with doodling
tips, a Plaid Craft TV episode that features me and Steve making a Mod
Podge bird house wind chime with a recycled sweater flower, some paint
mixing tips and a recipe for watermelon granita.

Thursday, September 08, 2011

How could I not have thought about this before? I love hearing from all
of you, but sometimes you just don't want to leave a public comment.
So I've attempted to make it easier for you with a big bold CONTACT button right up at the top of the page and in the sidebar too!

Here's an incomplete list of the various reasons that you might choose to contact me through this page:

Visitor questions

Site problems - anything from spelling mistakes to html glitches

Topics you'd like me to cover in the future. No, I won't promise, but I will consider it!

Services you'd like to offer in exchange for publicity - a tutorial, artist profile, or items for giveaway, perhaps?

Product review requests

Advertising inquiries

Affiliate program invitations

Publishers and editors - do you need some projects to fill your book?

Media inquiries - anyone need an "expert"? :-)

Designer endorsement - do you need someone to create a project using your products?

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

We've got a brand new sponsor here on Mixed Media Artist that I would urge you to visit if you are involved in selling your work: Store Supply Warehouse
has everything you need for store display, tagging, packaging,
and organizing. You'll find their ad in the sidebar. Even if you don't
own a store, you will need many of the items they carry for doing
consignment or shows.

Monday, September 05, 2011

This is a piece that I made quite a long time ago, but I thought I'd share it with you, because it uses a couple of techniques that might help you out some day. I really need to get a new picture of it sometime, because about 1/2 inch has been clipped off on the left by my too-short scanner.

At the time I made it, there was a lot of upheaval going on in my life (much like now!) so maybe that's another reason that I was drawn back to this piece. I can see some things that I would do differently if I were making it now, but that's ok. I digitally changed this shot of the Grand Canyon (a view from Plateau Point) by stretching it out width-wise and by enhancing the colors. What I wanted was a much more "atmospheric" look, so I tried to make the foreground brighter and the mountains in the background dark and ominous. Looking at it now, I really think I should have made the sky darker and roiling with angry clouds, with the butterfly escaping into maybe a tiny little remaining patch of light. What do you think?

Anyway, once I got the image the way I wanted it at the time, I printed it out and used traditional collaging methods to add the leggy butterfly and the text. The part that I absolutely like the best is the way the wings break free from the edge of the landscape. That is something I wouldn't change!

Copyright 2011 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

Friday, September 02, 2011

Aileen's MusingsAileen's gearing up for Christmas already with an altered wooden domino tutorial.

Cindy Gimbrone BeadsCindy is one step ahead when she uses a wire wrapping technique to create a poinsetta ring for the holidays.

Craft BudsStop by Craft Buds this September, where they will host craft book giveaways, projects and more. It's a party!

Craftside- A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty worldThis week at Craftside there is a chance to win a
copy of the book Sewing Vintage Aprons along with a fun recycled
shirt/apron tutorial, a bunch of portfolio info and how to help a dog
when it's overheating, dehydrated and sunburned and a new free Rockport
App.

Crafty Princess DiariesTammy altered a star pattern afghan and shows you the results plus how she changed it up a little.

Eileen - The Artful CrafterEileen tries her hand at 3D paper tole. It’s not as difficult as it looks, but does require a bit of patience.

Lindsay SewsThe equalizer quilt design is a new project that uses guy-friendly fabrics. It's a quilt that even he will love.